He was disqualified by a judge after the Louisiana Board of Ethics filed a petition objecting to his candidacy. Now the Rapides Parish school board has voted to call a special election to refill the seat of District 5 Board Member John Allen. Allen was set to automatically be reelected due to the fact no one qualified to run against him. Allen’s term will now come to an end in December and the special election to fill the seat will be held in March.

The Louisiana Nation Guard’s 139th Regional Support Group are back in Louisiana after an extended stay in Iraq. 84 troops, 60 of those from the New Orleans area, and the rest from here in Alexandria, returned from a deployment that began in December. The guard worked at Taji and Al Asad in Iraq, and Erbil Air Base in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The Louisiana Health Department is urging residents to protect themselves from West Nile Virus as the state leads the nation in reported human cases. 53 human cases this year as Louisiana has already doubled the number of cases it had for all of 2017. Also two people have died from West Nile, 31 have developed the more serious neuro-invasive form of the disease.

Three members of the white supremacist Aryan Circle group pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria this week in the death of an Evangeline Parish man. 38 year old David Wayne Williams of Sulphur, a senior leader in the gang, and 43 year old Leland Hamm of Tulsa, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty Tuesday and Wednesday to being accessories after the fact in the racketeering murder of 51 year old Clifton Hallmark of Turkey Creek. Late last month 47 year old Richard Smith of Little Rock also pleaded guilty.

Louisiana could getting more than $172 million back from the IRS, if this week's federal ruling against a fee tied to the federal Affordable Care Act stands.Louisiana and five other states that rely on managed-care systems for delivering Medicaid had challenged the ACA's Health Insurance Provider Fee, which was charged to providers and then passed onto state taxpayers. The U.S. District Court for the Northern Division of Texas ruled late Tuesday that states are entitled to have that money repaid -- about $839 million across all six states. The decision could be appealed, so it's unclear when or if Louisiana could see any money from the decision.

A task force has been set up by the Department of Insurance to address Louisiana’s high auto insurance rates and to make recommendations to lower consumer premiums.

The Task Force is made up of legislators and representatives from insurance companies, the trucking industry and trial lawyers. It was set up by a bill the Legislature passed earlier this year. According to Insure.com, Louisiana has the second-highest auto insurance rates in the country.

Lafayette-Mayor President Joel Robideaux believes the Lafayette public library should cancel an event called Drag Queen Story Time. The library’s newsletter says the October 6th event will be an afternoon of books, songs and activities led by drag queens. Several appeared at last night’s city-parish council meeting to support the event, high school teacher Caleb Powell says it’s very important that children are read to at a young age.

A Baton Rouge Rouses’ employee, whose act of kindness toward an autistic teen became a viral video, now has a new set of wheels. Jordan Taylor already received six-figures for his college education and is enrolled at Grambling State, so he did not attend the presentation of the car from Neighbors Federal Credit Union. His mother, Teresa Taylor says the act of kindness of her son was a great showcase of his character.

A Katrina Museum is opened to the public Wednesday after a morning ceremony christened the exhibit showcasing the extensive damage many homes suffered after the levees broke in New Orleans. Levees.org Founder Sandy Rosenthal says a new generation of Crescent City kids just don’t know what it was like.

A Thibodaux man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon after allegedly throwing his girlfriend’s cat into a bayou, then killing it with a machete. Authorities with the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office say 30 year old Cody Toups is now charged with aggravated cruelty to animals in the incident. Toups bond was set at $15,000

Sports..

There are reports former LSU Quarterback Justin McMillan will transfer to Tulane University. McMillan left the Tigers last week, but the school reportedly would not allow him to transfer to any other SEC school or a team that the Tigers will play this season or next year. New NCAA Transfer rules go into effect in October that will prevent teams from blocking student-athletes from transferring to a particular school.

Louisiana Tech Footbal Coach Skip Holtz says they had their most spirited practice of fall camp Wednesday and his team is ready to play a real game. Tech will wrap up camp on Friday and then get ready to play South Alabama in the season opener on September 1st.